The Best Ever Teams

Sustained Excellence in Professional Sports - what does this mean? How about Best Winning Percentage, Most Playoff Appearances, and Most League Titles? Without further ago, The Best Ever

Basketball (NBA/ABA) - 1947 to present: Lakers (1949)

• won/loss

1. Lakers (.620) over 63 years
2. Celtics (.595) over 65 years
3. Spurs (.584) over 44 years

• playoffs

1. Lakers (58)
2. Celtics (49)
3. Sizers (46) over 62 years

• titles

1. Celtics (17)
2. Lakers (16)
3. Bulls (6) over 45 years

source: http://www.basketball-reference.com/

Football (NFL/AFL) - 1920 to present: Cowboys (1960)

• won/loss

1. Bears (.578) over 91 years
2. Cowboys (.576) over 51 years
3. Dolphins (.572) over 45 years

• playoffs

1. Cowboys (30)
2. Giants (30) over 86 years
3. Browns (28) over 65 years

• titles (Super Bowl + League Champion)

1. Packers (13)
2. Bears (9)
3. Browns (8)

• Super Bowl Titles

1. Steelers (6) over 78 years
2. Cowboys (5)
3. 49ers (5) over 65 years

source: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/

Baseball (AL/NL) - 1876 to present: Yankees (1901)

• won/loss

1. Yankees (.568) over 110 years
2. Giants (.538) over 128 years
3. Dodgers (.524) over 127 years

• playoffs

1. Yankees (40)
2. Dodgers (22)
3. Cardinals (22) over 130 years

• titles

1. Yankees (27)
2. Cardinals (11)
3. Athletics (9) over 110 years

source: http://www.baseball-reference.com/

NBA Finals 2011

As would be expected, I'm, at most, mildly interested in the NBA Finals this year. Really expected the C's and Lakes to square off. Ah well, maybe next year.

But, I can still root for the sub-plots - the Mo-Heat-Oh's fail to live up to the astronomical expectations they set for themselves. The (likely) repeat of the 'fall-short-and-blame-it-on-others' LeBron. (Really - 46 minutes and 8 points??) The sun-setting of a really good PG Jason Kidd. Top 5? Maybe. Here's the list.

Magic Johnson
Oscar Robertson
Bob Cousy
John Stockton
Isaiah Thomas (OW!)

Where does he fit? Top 10 for sure, edging out Steve Nash, Gary Payton, Walt Frazier, and (likely) Deron Williams, Chris Paul, and Derrick Rose.

Can I swap out Isaiah for J-Kidd? I sure could right now. If Mavs win it this year, done and done!

Ciao.

(I promise to post more often)

The Silly NBA Finals Game Scheduling

There is a ton of commentary (mostly against) about the 2-3-2 schedule format of the NBA Finals. However, there isn't much statistical data to back up the negative opinions. For instance, see here for a summary of how the team with the home court advantage has faired in all the 2-3-2 series vs the preceding 25 years of 2-2-1-1-1 format. No significant advantages either way.

Another bugaboo I've heard is that no team has "swept" the middle 3 games. Again, hogwash. There have been 26 Finals since the NBA moved (back) to the 2-3-2 (including the 2010 NBA Finals). Here are some stats for the "host" team - the home team for the middle 3 games.

The host team has "won" the middle series (winning 2 of the 3 games*) 11 times - 42%
The host team has "lost" the middle series (winning 1 of the 3 games**) 6 times - 23%
The host team has "swept" the middle series (winning all 3 games***) 3 times - 12%
The host team has been "swept" in the middle series (losing all 3 games****) 6 times - 23%
The host team has won the NBA Finals just 5 times - 19%

* this includes the 2010 NBA Finals
** in 1993 the Phoenix Suns had home court advantage and beat the Chicago Bulls in 2 of the 3 games in Chicago. However, Chicago won all 3 games in Phoenix to win the title
*** in 1995 the Orlando Magic had home court advantage and lost in 4 games to the Houston Rockets
**** in 1989 the Detroit Pistons finished a 4 game sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers in LA; in 2002 the LA Lakers finished a 4 game sweep of the New Jersey Nets in East Rutherford; in 2007 the San Antonio Spurs finished a 4 game sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers in Cleveland.

So, of the 26 series, 9 times a team has "swept" the middle games (a 3 game sweep 5 times and a 2 game sweep 4 times). We think the bigger factor is home court advantage. No matter what happens in the middle three games, the team with home court for 4 of the 7 games has won the title 20 of 25 times (soon to be 21 of 26), an amazing 80% clip. The first sweep of the middle 3 games (in the modern era) was the 1990 series when Detroit split at home and then swept Portland to take the title.

If we had the choice, we'd take 4 games at home in the NBA FInals every day of the week and twice on Saturday!

Historical note: the current 2-3-2 format is not original. In 1949, the Minneapolis Lakers won 1 of 3 games hosted by the Washington Capitols and took the title in 6 games. In 1953, the Minneapolis Lakers swept the New York Knicks on the road and won the title in 5 games. In 1954, The Minneapolis Lakers took 2 of 3 road games against the Syracuse Nationals and won in 7 games. And, in 1955, the Syracuse Nationals lost all 3 road games against the Fort Wayne Pistons but took the title in 7 games by winning all 4 home games. So, add 1 to each result above. And, keep in mind that the first "sweep" of the middle 3 games occurred in 1953!

NBA Finals - Game 5

ITS OVER! Lakers have secured 15th NBA Championship. And, how sweet this one is. I'm sure hoops fans would have loved another nail-biter. But, after that simply amazing second quarter run (16 to Oh!), it was all over. The only remaining drama was 1) would Kobe get a triple-double and 2) would anyone hurt themselves in the post-game celebration. Great great win by the greatest franchise in the NBA.

Lots of chatter about "best ever" with respect to KB24. This is kind of unfair to Kobe. Obviously, he has been compared to (and models himself after) MJ, but Kobe is still playing. Kenny Smith ranked him 10th ALL-TIME. And, he's still playing! He is the only guy around who can improve his standing. Nuts.

Here's a nice factoid for comparison on the NBA Finals stage:

Kobe Bryant averaged 32.4 points and 7.4 assists per game against Orlando during the Finals. The only player to match or surpass Bryant's averages in each of those categories in an NBA Finals series was Jerry West, who averaged 37.9 points and 7.4 assists per game for the Lakers in their 1969 Finals loss to the Celtics.

That, to me, is a measure of his greatness. The widely acknowledged best SG B.M. (Before Michael) and Kobe is right there. By the way, Jordan never got that close to the Logo. Just saying.

Some more on the impossible. Instead of saying "single best ever", I'll identify the best ever (no limit) at each position, ranked how I see them...

PG - Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson
SG - Michael Jordan (for now), Kobe Bryant, Jerry West
SF - Larry Bird (for now), Pending 1*, Julius Erving
PF - Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Reserved 1*, Reserved 2*
C - Wilt Chamberlin, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal

Pending 1 - this spot is waiting on Lebron James to get a title. No one gets on my list without winning a title.

Reserved 1 - this spot is reserved for Elgin Baylor. Simply the best player ever to not win a title - a true shame.

Reserved 2 - this spot is reserved for Karl Malone. The second best player ever to not win a title - ironic that both played for Lakers. :-|

That's the Top 16 players of all-time. I'd take that squad anytime. :-) Let's just run a few 8 vs 8 player team challenges - Wilt and Bill picking squads.

Some tweets from the sweet series clinching Game 5:

# @sportsguy33 We need the Revenge Series first - 2010 and Celts are going down! In 2011 we can have the Rubber Match , when Lakes get 17th
about 13 hours ago from TweetDeck in reply to sportsguy33

# The L.A. Lakers win their 15th NBA championship, beating the Orlando Magic 99-86. (via @cnnbrk) Wooo Hooo
about 14 hours ago from Twitterrific in reply to cnnbrk

# 10 minutes and I can already get the official "on the court" hat shirt DVD and towel...for 79.95.
about 14 hours ago from Twitterrific

# We Are The Champions!!
about 14 hours ago from Twitterrific

# "Dad. Can we watch the trophy presentation?" "You bet, son." 3:00 left in the game
about 14 hours ago from Twitterrific

# LOTS of Forum Blue and Gold in the stands. "Lucky." - Napolean Dynamite
about 15 hours ago from Twitterrific

# KB24 refused treatment on his hand at halftime-Finals MVP is wrapped up
about 15 hours ago from Twitterrific

# Screening (antonym): Dwight Howard
about 15 hours ago from TweetDeck

# Screening: ...His opponent can see him and, therefore, is expected to detour around the screen.
about 15 hours ago from TweetDeck

# Screening: ...he may be as close as he desires providing he does not make contact...
about 15 hours ago from TweetDeck

# Screening: When a player screens in front of or at the side of a stationary opponent...
about 15 hours ago from TweetDeck

# Traveling: a. A player shall not run with the ball without dribbling it. b. Hedo Turkoglu
about 15 hours ago from TweetDeck

Series fade out, with "We Are The Champions" in the background...

NBA Finals - Game 3

Where to start? Let's see. We have an underdog at home playing for its first ever win in the Finals - not a SERIES win but a GAME win. Quickest whistle in the league (Crawford) - check. Worst whistle in the league (Wunderlich) - check. Unconscionably bad free throw shooting by the road team - check. Absolutely torrid 1st half shooting by the home team (75%) - check. And STILL the Lakes were in it to the end.

Orlando fans take whatever you want from this game. But, I'm disagreeing with Mark Jackson (said in my JVG voice). The Lakers lost this game. If I'm Orlando and my win is hanging on Kobe missing 4 freebies and making two horrific turns at the end, I'm in serious trouble.

I said before that Orlando stretches it to 6. But, after that shooting pace and only be up 5 at half and 4 at the end? Wow. They should have won by 20. The Lakers can rest easy knowing they let a VERY winnable game slip through their fingers.

NBA Finals - Preview

Not sure if its the 2 cups of coffee, but I'm buzzing right now. Oh, wait. Its the NBA FINALS BABY! Its going to be a great Series and I'll be blogging one Lakers fan's viewpoint throughout.

For now, my thoughts (like you care THAT much) on the matchups...

PG - DFish vs Skip to my Lou - Advantage: even. Fish is slowing down but has the wiles and gumption to get even on this matchup. Skip has the wheels but I'm not sure how he handles the pressure and with Jameer Nelson in the wings, it can't be good. Backup note: Farmer/Brown kill anything that Johnson brings. I'm really hoping Shannon Brown can take it to the next level - he has a GREAT toolset for the triple post.

SG - Mamba vs Some Rookie - Advantage: no contest. Just to make it a little less lopsided, let's combine Courtney Lee and Mickael Pietrus and call him Mickney Leetrus. There is no reasonable scenario where Mickney hangs with Kobe. The stats are not THAT off (except pts) - 17.8|5.6|2.4|1.56 vs 26.8|5.2|4.9|1.46. But, Kobe commands dbl/tpl teams the entire time and Leetrus will be ignored a LOT. If you get wide open corner 3s the ENTIRE game, you better be able to notch 15+ a game. Guarding LBJ is tough. But if you think about it, LBJ's actually a bit predictable. Either he runs headlong to the rim or dishes to a teammate at first sign of trouble. Mamba don't run that way. He doesn't let you off the hook after the first move. Poor Mickney Leetrus is in for a LONG series.

SF - Ariza vs MJofT - Advantage: (slim) to Orlando. Hedo has the ball a TON but takes a LOT of late shots. Ariza has covered a couple bigger heavier guys. This will seem like a vacation for him. And if Ariza continues his torrid shooting, this matchup easily swings the other way.

PF - Pau vs Shard - Advantage: (big) to Los Angeles. Lewis will get lots of open looks from deep. But, he will get absolutely killed on defense. I can easily see Lewis averaging 18-20 ppg and Gasol getting 26-28 ppg and tons of assists on the drop pass to Bynum after Howard comes to help.

C - Bynum vs Superman - Advantage: (not as big as it seems) to Orlando. Bynum has the length and size to play Superman one-on-one. This will (hopefully) limit the touches/shots Howard gets. If Bynum commits himself to D and R (help us out here @kaj33), then this Series is over quick. If he doesn't, then Dwight goes nuts and Lakers have to roll a dbl to him - not good. We'll see how well the new D handles a serious post threat.

X - LO vs Nelson (I guess) - Advantage: Lakers. The Lake Show gets BIGGER and LONGER when they sub. I could easily see Odom subbing for Ariza first to get 3 bigs against the Magic top group. But, either way, Lamar should be able to abuse Lewis even more than Pau will. I had to use Pietrus to get the SG position in the ballpark. What else does Orlando bring? The Nelson question will be big and distracting - will he/wont he play... - this can't be good for a young team on the big stage for the first time.

Coaches - Zen vs Panic - Advantage: no contest. Granted SVG is a good Xs/Os guy. But, at this point of the season, it's about execution and energy. That's why Zen has 10 rings (and counting). Any good college or HS coach could have figured out the Cavs over a best of 7. This is Bright Lights time and I expect SVG is not so good this figuring out a (real) offense.

Intangibles - M(otivation) HUGE advantage for Lakers; E(xperience) HUGE advantage for Lakers; (lack of) R(espect) advantage for Magic; H(ome) C(ourt) advantage for Lakers.

Orlando...
Championships: 0
Last Championship: Never won title
Last Season: Lost in Eastern Conference semifinals

Los Angeles...
Championships: 14 (5 as Minneapolis Lakers)
Last Championship: 2002
Last Season: Lost in NBA Finals

I'm still expecting a long series. But, ultimately Lakers prevail. Unlike any other sport, the NBA requires getting close and failing before a team can win it all. This Lakers team had that hurdle last year. The motivation to atone for last year will trump the "we have nothing to lose" freeness the Magic will bring. Lakers close it at home in 6 games.

Ciao